What Dreams May Come
by Aurora BoreAlice
Summary: A bloody Konohamaru stumbles through the gates alone with grim news. Akatsuki have Naruto. Can they make it in time, or has Konoha lost it's loud mouthed hyperactive ninja for good? Rated T for violence.
1. Chapter 1

The fox couldn't remember having felt this much pain before in all his long life Even when that blonde annoyance sealed him inside the other blonde brat didn't measure up. That had certainly hurt to be ripped from his body and shoved behind a seal. However that really couldn't compare to what he was feeling right now. Judging by the screams coming from his host he got the feeling that the brat agreed with him. He gritted his teeth, holding back his own pained howls, after all it wasn't like anyone but the brat could hear him.

Akatsuki must not have had a clue how difficult this would be. It wasn't like with the others, their seal was more complex. The Fourth hadn't just sealed him inside the brat, he'd set it up so that their chakras and even their souls, to the kitsune's annoyance, had bled together at least a little. So instead of just working to pull him out of the boy, they also had the tedious task of trying to separate them first. A task that the S-class ninja's were finding to be more complicated. They hadn't counted on the blonde clinging to his inner parasite so fiercely.

The old fox winced in pain as he felt the boy wrap their chakra together once again. It was useless really, for every step back he took the jutsu pulled them two steps forward again. All the idiot was doing was draining their energy and screaming his throat raw. It was only a matter of time before they both ran out of steam and lost. Behind the bars of his cage he shook his head. Kyuubi had warned the brat, more than once, that if they were caught it would be best to just try and shove all of the youki behind the seal. Akatsuki would nab it up, rip it out, and hopefully the boy would make it out of the experience alive.

When he suggested that plan to the boy Naruto had only grinned at him, flashing that annoyingly wide grin, and stated, "No way I'm letting them kidnap you, you smelly old fox! They'll have to kill me first! Believe it!"

Kyuubi didn't know why it even mattered to the brat. Once he was gone the boy might actually get to live a semi normal life for once. Maybe settled down with that timid Hyuuga and actually get time to train to become Hokage one day. He didn't need the fox's power for that, he was strong enough on his own. But for some reason he felt that he 'owed' it to the demon for 'stealing his life' or some nonsense.

But in a way….it was kind of nice to know that there was still some living thing that would miss him if he was gone…and-and just what in the world is that brat doing?

As fiercely as he was holding onto the youki before now he was pushing it with all his might behind the seal. Abruptly the fox was alone once again in his cage. The pain of his container was a distant thing and he blinked at the bars in shock. He felt…abandoned.

"Heh…"

After all that fancy talk the brat was still just a human. He must have given in to the pain and fear and pushed him away. Without the tug from Naruto he could be drawn out in no time at all. In fact he could already feel something grabbing him and pulling him out from the seal.

He didn't resist, that would only cause him more pain. He could try clinging to the blonde, he might even be able to kill him in the fight, but in the end the result would be the same.

He sighed, and decided to go out with some dignity. Closing his eyes he let himself float up and as he rose darkness crept into his consciousness until he started to black out. He wondered briefly if this was it. Would this be the last time he fell asleep?

As he finally passed out he could hear off in the distance an annoying voice, _Sorry Kyuubi-jisan…_

* * *

Authors Notes: If you're only here to read the story please disregard the ramblings about to follow. Hello there! I am Alice! Thank you for checking out this story! Follows and favorites will be used to buy Naruto some ramen. Please forgive any grammer/spelling mistakes you come across, I has no beta for this story yet. That being said this is NOT a one shot! (Woohoo!) I got an idea for this a few weeks ago and I've been planning and plotting evilly ever since then.

As far as this Naruto universe goes there's ome major differences from the manga. I'll get into the exact details of that later but suffice it to say that after about The Valley of the End I'm no longer following the main plot line. I expect it to differ drastically from the original.

Reviews fed my creative juices *cough*ego*cough* so please leave them in the box on your way out! Feel free to point out plot holes or problems I appricate it and will try to get them fixed as soon as possible! Flames will likely be mocked in the AN's.

Look for the next bit within a week. It's half done already and considerably longer than this teaser.

Oh and just to get it out of the way so it never needs to be said again-

Disclaimer: I am not Japanese, thus I will have never and will never own Naruto.

Toodles!

-Alice


	2. Chapter 2

By the time Konohamaru made it back they all knew it was too late. What had been a simple trip to Wave Country to visit some friends, which should have only taken three or four days, had lasted seven days.

The genin stumbled past the gate on wobbly legs, dried blood from a blow caked to the side of his head. His news was grim, and as he gave his report to the hokage the woman felt her heart sink.

Three members of Akatsuki had attacked them suddenly on their way back home. Naruto had ordered his little shadow to run and get help, but he hadn't gone two steps when the blue skinned nukenin grabbed him. Naruto had done his best, but in the end they overwhelmed him. The last Konohamaru had seen of him, before being tossed back through a tree, was as Itachi invaded the young man's mind, making him fall to the ground.

Every free Chunnin was ordered to find them. Kakashi led them as they raced out of the gate back towards where the battle had been. Another was sent to the outlying villages to find Jiraiya. If they wanted to have any chance to save their blonde annoyance they would need his help.

Staring out the window Tsunade lamented her duties to the village that kept her from going out herself. But she had hope that if they found him alive Sakura could keep him that way long enough to get him back to her. She just hoped that his luck would hold up a bit longer against that cursed necklace.

* * *

They ran in almost complete silence, no one daring to voice fears or hope. They knew how careful Akatsuki planned their attacks, and after the lapse of a few days the best they could reasonably hope for was to find their friends body to give him a proper funeral.

Hinata's heart was racing, and not just from the forced run. All she could think about was a night, barely a week ago.

It had taken her a year to finally get up the courage to tell him how she felt, then another week for him to realize what she meant. The look on his face had been priceless; he hadn't even noticed when the flash from Ino's camera went off. Not that he could tell the difference between that and the stars in his eyes.

'Was it really only a week ago?' she mused, pale eyes framed by worry wrinkles as she moved through the trees. Up until half a day ago time had sped up. But now she felt like she was pushing through glue, trying desperately to move faster. They had to get there in time!

The only sounds came from the soft thuds of their feet and the occasional bark from a summon dog, guiding them after their target. They felt little need to move as quietly as they could. It was far more important at the moment to move quickly.

It had been a tense first day when they came upon the area of the ambush. Kakashi was impressed with the amount of damage to the scenery. They had plenty of time to admire it while the dogs picked up the real trail again. The gigantic trees in the area were all but blown to pieces, and several large craters pointed to Naruto's rasengan. There was evidence of several high level jutsu's and judging by the burn marks everywhere at some point their hyperactive ninja must had been pushed into using some of the kyuubi's chakra.

But even that hadn't been enough. Fear for Konohamaru must have held him back. If he'd let too much of the fox's power out it would likely have killed everyone in the area. He'd obviously hesitated a moment, but even one moment is a moment too long when you're facing Uchiha Itachi.

They were all anxious to get moving again, and the moment a summon barked they were off. The silver haired jonin glanced over their little group and was not comforted. While they were all strong ninja's in their own right, it would still be a battle stacked heavily in the favor of their enemies. He only hoped Jiraiya would be able to catch up quickly to them.

His head snapped up as ahead of them one of the summons' stopped and howled loudly. They all converged on the spot and he looked the Chuunins over once again as he pulled up his forehead protector. "Watch your step, this is strictly smash and grab. Do not engage in battle if at all possible." They all nodded and got ready. Bloodlines were activated, weapons grasped in hands, and Sakura tugged on her gloves to prepare. They ran towards the cave entrance ready to tear their way inside.

Only to find that they shouldn't have bothered.

Almost as if to mock them the entrance was open, the rock already pushed to the side as if to invite them in. The cautious ninjas might have assumed a trick of some kind, but the seals on the entrance had been broken and smudged. Their job was done; there was nothing to protect inside anymore.

"Hinata, take a look inside. Check for any enemies." The CopyCat Ninja kept a sharp eye out as he gave the order. As if realizing they'd been standing there the rest of the group spread out just in case they were attacked. It would be bad if they were all caught in the same attack. The young woman nodded and activated her clans bloodline limit. For several tense seconds she stood still before beginning to frown.

"…I don't see anyone. N-no one is inside."

Kakashi frowned, his brows coming together, "Are you sure?" After a firm nod he tried to mask his uneasiness.

"What about Naruto?" Sakura, green eyes blazing with anger waited for an answer as the other kunoichi looked again. With a gasp Hinata ran towards the cave, ignoring her superiors' command to stop. He ordered Neji and Shikamaru to stand watch as the rest of the group ran after her.

He couldn't relax, even when it was becoming clear that the cave was abandoned. It was too easy. The only reason it would be this easy to sneak in here would be if they were done. If they were done then Naruto was probably dead.

He prepared himself for what they might see. Death was a more constant companion than any ninja wished for, but it was never something he got used to. He came to a halt, along with the rest of the group to take in the scene of their orange clad friend.

The blood that turned his hair red and coated most of his left side was dry now, caked on. There were a few small splatters of it on the floor near him and it had soaked his jacket. Hinata didn't seem to notice the gore she was kneeling in as she held one of his hands to her cheek. Sakura waited with baited breath as her friend turned slowly to look up at her. Tears began to stream silently down her pale cheeks and a choked laugh forced it's way past her lips as she cried and tried not to grin. Rubbing his hands she smiled.

"He's alive."

* * *

He started to wake as a soft murmur of voices filled the air around him. He tried to make sense of them, but his head was pounding and he felt so heavy. It would be so easy to just fall back asleep. In fact that sounded really nice right now. His thoughts were muddled as a few words made it past the fog in his mind.

"…put your….him warm…."

He frowned. That voice sounded so familiar. He felt like he should recognize it but all he could come up with was a memory of trees and the color pink. He wanted to try and figure it out but the cloud over his thoughts made it difficult.

"…need to assess….could be broken…."

There was a feather light touch on his collarbone. He allowed it since he didn't have the strength to even try and bat the hand away. That hand trailed down his chest but when it passed over his ribs he let out a pained whimper as a new wave of agony rolled over his mind, pushing him back towards blessed oblivion.

The hand jerked away in surprise and that voice that was pink...or maybe it was a petal?…softly, incredulously whispered, "Naruto?"

* * *

It had taken Sakura all of two seconds to be kneeling next to Hinata, the soft glow of chakra surrounding her palms. "Put your jacket over him, we need to keep him warm."

She used a chakra blade to carefully cut off the ragged remains of his jacket and placed a glowing hand over his collarbone. Hinata listened carefully, to help memorize Sakura's diagnosis.

"We need to assess the extent of the damage. Drat, his arm could be broken; we'll need to set that before we move him. Heart, weak but working. He's had lots of blood loss." He hand moved down, checking out his lungs and ribs. "There's fluid in the left lung I think this rib hit it when it broke-" there was a soft whimper of pain and she froze before jerking her hand away from a nasty purple blotch on his side. "Naruto?"

She couldn't believe it. Even if he was alive he shouldn't be conscious right now. The medic nin shook her head to snap out of it, she should be used to him surprising her by now. Hinata gently rubbed his hand to comfort him and bit her lip. She wanted him to open his eyes right now. He'd blink, look around, then grin at her. Then he'd say something really silly to try and get them all to stop worrying about him.

Running a hand over his face Sakura grimaced, "Concussion too. We need to get him back to Konoha. I can stabilize him for now." She lifted an eyelid and swore quietly, "I think some if the veins in his eye burst too." Focusing now she got to work getting him travel ready. After that one whimper it didn't look like he was going to be coming around anytime soon.

In less than five minutes they had strapped him to a makeshift stretcher and were quickly making their way back towards home. To say their steps and hearts were lighterl would be like saying Naruto ate ramen once in a while. Their hyperactive friend was coming back with them. It was a little bittersweet, knowing that Akatsuki was one demon closer to their goal, but at least no one had to die today.

* * *

He knew something was wrong the moment he began to wake up. To start, he hurt. He was sore everywhere he could think of, and a few places he hadn't known were capable of the feeling. Then there was the fact that he was lying on something soft that, admittedly, did help to ease some of the bruises. But that didn't match up with any of his recent memories. Last he remembered they had been-

His eyes shot open and he glanced around the room quickly. His confusion and unease only grew when he looked over the simple white hospital room. The steady drip in the background of an IV and the whirring of machines assaulted his senses. His eyes narrowed as he picked up the scent of medicines.

This was wrong, this was all wrong! He was sure that those robe wearers had killed him. But besides that, it was impossible for him to be here, lying in a bed, in a hospital.

With a wince he slowly sat up, one bandaged hand going to his side to support ribs that protested the movement. The heart monitor attached to his finger began to beep frantically as his heart rate sped up.

Now a little more upright he slowly brought his hands out in front of them and stared at them as if he'd never seen them before. "I-impossible!" he ground out from a throat too raw from screaming. He was still staring in shock when the door opened and a pink haired woman glared at him.

" .to! You stubborn idiot! Do not make me strap you to the bed! I just got your ribs to settle and I will NOT-!" She choked off in the middle of her tirade when her teammate whipped his head around to growl at her.

A chart fell limply from her fingers as eyes the color of fresh blood glared at her from her teammates' face. Pupils contracted into thin slits as he warned her off. Even though she knew that it would be physically impossible for him at the moment she couldn't help the feeling that he was about to lunge for her throat with the impressively long canines he was barring at her.

Satisfied she wouldn't come closer for the moment he went back to scowling at his hands and muttered darkly to himself.

"Naruto…you fool."

* * *

AN:

Reviews are to writers what manure is to tulips. So thank you TigrezzTail and Maskedgirl08! Although I've gotta say I was cackling evilly when I read your comment TigrezzTail. You were right on!

The downside is now the buffer is gone and the next update may take a while. The upside is now we can get to the good stuff. *rubs hands together whilst laughing evilly*


	3. Chapter 3

Ignoring the chuunin to his side he flexed his hands experimentally, curiously moving each finger. Shaking his head he reached up then and pulled out the IV needle in his right wrist.

That pulled Sakura out of her shock and she jumped forward with a growl, whacking him over the back of the head to make him stop. Pain burst behind his eyes and the room spun for a moment before righting itself again. His hand slowly rose to cover the new bruise and he looked up at her utterly nonplussed.

"Idiot, stop undoing my work! You're still not healed so you'd better lie back down before I make you." She scowled down at him and felt her heart sink as the eyes stayed the same shade of red.

Kyuubi looked up at her then and slowly those red eyes narrowed, flashing dangerously. Sakura had a moment to regret hitting him as a blur too fast for her to react to came towards her head.

* * *

When a civilian nurse came by half an hour later to change the IV she found an open window, an empty bed, and one pink haired medic nin on the floor.

* * *

After knocking that woman out Kyuubi removed the rest of the monitors and carefully got out of bed. He moved with an animal grace, lightly descending from the mattress…

….That is until he fell over his own feet.

Cursing the floor, the bed, the sheets, and everything else he could see at the moment he shakily got to his feet. He hadn't realized just how difficult it was to walk on only two legs. How in the world did humans manage without tails to balance with?

He moved slowly, getting used to it. Now that he had a moment to think about it, this was the first time in sixteen years he'd been able to move, or even feel the ground under his feet. It was…strange, to say the least.

Taking a deep breathe he opened the one window in the room and glanced about to make sure no one was around before jumping down the two stories to the ground, where he promptly fell over again.

Holding back the profanities that he so wanted to spew forth he got to his feet again and took off in an unsteady run away from the building.

This was by far the strangest situation Kyuubi had ever found himself in. Even more than that one time a tanuki had tricked him into thinking it was a cute vixen! Here he was, Kyuubi no Youko, the most feared demon of all time, scourge of the Fire Country, scuttling about in the shadows. Hiding from humans!

How embarrassing…he should never need to hide from anyone! He glared at them all from his hiding place between houses. 'Feh, the pathetic vermin should all be thanking me on bended knee for not exacting my revenge.' The fact that he probably couldn't exact said revenge conveniently never entered his inner musings.

He stopped outside a familiar looking apartment building and quickly scaled the wall to the top floor. The trap on the window was easily undone. He'd seen the brat set it often enough after all. That and the fact that he'd actually taught him a thing or two about traps in a fit of boredom.

One more furtive glance around and he hurried inside, locking the window behind himself. He had to give himself a mental pat on the back for getting used to having fingers so quickly.

What he hadn't noticed was the silver haired jonin who'd seen him dart from between two houses in a hospital gown. Chuckling to himself Kakashi flipped open his book again and shook his head. "Well, looks like Naruto got sick of the hospital." He only hoped Sakura didn't beat him too badly for leaving so soon. He turned and started walking in the opposite direction, not wanting to get caught in the soon-to-be warzone.

The irritated kitsune practically tore off the white hospital gown, tossing it to the side with a scowl. It reeked of medicine, and it was scratchy! Not that he minded being able to feel again things again, but enough was enough!

Carefully he began to unwrap the bandages and took inventory of the state this body was in. During his walk he'd begun applying a small amount of youki to make the wounds heal faster. It had drained his dangerously low chakra reserves, but it wouldn't do if he was trying to escape and an injury tripped him up. He nodded, happy to see that the cuts were healed now, with only pink scar tissue to show they'd even been there. With a bit more time even that would be gone.

His nose wrinkled at the smell of blood as he dropped the used bandages on the floor. He'd need to wash before leaving to get rid of that scent. It could get him caught later on if he didn't. He put a hand to his ribs and winced. Still sore, he'd have to move carefully for a bit longer to let the bone finish mending. He was still a little dizzy, probably from blood loss. He should eat before leaving.

He sighed then looked around the room. Again it struck him what a novelty it was to be able to do so, and to move around freely. He stretched out, relishing the feeling, then entered the small kitchen.

When a quick search turned up nothing more than instant ramen he was almost ready to just skip eating altogether. But the body reminded him, forcefully, that this was not going to be an option.

"How anyone can eat this tripe willingly…" he grumbled tearing open a packet with his teeth. With some trial and quite a bit of error he figured out how to work the stove. With the noodles cooking on the table he left the room, sullenly nursing a burn on his finger. 'Kitsune don't get burnt, we burn! Stupid body, stupid human body!'

Putting the evil stove behind him he quickly washed up. (Though he really did have to hand it to them when it came to showers. Humans were marvelously creative creatures to get warm water up three flights of stairs with a small metal knob.)

With his estimate he probably had about ten more minutes before someone found that girl and came looking for him. He began looking for some clothing, muttering about human bodies and their lack of protective fur.

Picking up a bright orange pair of pants his first instinct was to toss it to the side. Maybe even rip it up a bit for good measure. But he paused in the act of tossing it. He'd attract a lot of attention if 'Naruto' suddenly went running around in something other than his signature eye searing outfit. He sighed and pulled on the pants.

'Besides,' he pondered, 'what if they catch up?' He wasn't a fool. He hadn't lived this long because he was stupid. He knew he'd likely run into at least one of the brats friends along the way. If they suspected for even a moment that his host was gone, and not just locked away somewhere in his mind, he'd be dead before he even had the chance to go save his idiot.

He froze in the middle of pulling the jacket on. Save him? Here he was, free for the first time in years, and he was really thinking about going to save that brat? He couldn't help the dark chuckle that escaped his throat. He shook his head at his own stupidity. He'd often watched in amusement as the brat had changed people's hearts and ways of thinking. It had always been a mystery to him how he did. But it looked like the blonde's sacrifice had fazed him more than he thought.

Huffing a little he finished dressing and entered the kitchen with his head held high, "Not that I want to help that brat or anything. I just don't want to be stuck in his body for the rest of my life." Reassured now he gulped down the ramen, trying not to shudder at the flavor they dared call chicken.

But he nearly choked on the last of it when a frantic pounding came from the front door. Coughing a little his mind raced as the knocking was accompanied by the voice of a middle-aged man. 'Oh sh-'

"Naruto? Naruto are you there?" the man sounded frantic as he called out through the door crack.

Kyuubi's mind raced as he tried to place that voice all the while keeping his voice even. "Ah, yes! I'm here."

A sigh and the man stopped hitting the door, "Thank goodness…Naruto open the door, it's important."

Kyuubi tried to make his voice sound pleasant, "Sure, just one second and I'll get it-" oh man, what did that brat always end his sentences with? Believe this? Believe me? Believe in ramen? Ah right! "-believe it!"

Hoping that would hold the man up for a moment he quietly snuck to the back window and jumped out, only breathing when he'd snuck around the side to see that the man with brown hair wa,s not so patiently, waiting outside still. Letting out a sigh he hurried down the street, head down to hide his eyes. He'd do a genjutsu later to hide them but for now what little chakra he could spare was being diverted to the cracked rib.

He was so intent on getting away from that man that he didn't notice the dog boy until he had clapped a hand on his shoulder, "Yo! Naruto! Ran away from the hospital already?" Kyuubi clamped down on his urge to kill the mutt boy and instead grinned widely, closing his eyes, "A-ah! Y-yeah! I didn't like it there."

Doing, what he felt was a pretty good impression of the blonde he rubbed the back of his head. Either it was working or the boy in front of him was an idiot because he grinned right back, "Great! I know the Hokage will probably not want you to be fighting any time soon but I was thinking that-"

Kyuubi tuned him out as he rambled on as a much more pressing concern made itself know to him. He could hear the older man knocking on his door again and calling out to Naruto. But as no one was inside to answer he was getting worried. Soon fear for his student won out and he stepped back into a taijutsu stance.

"-but Akamaru sprained his tail so I decided to take a walk by myself today. So, what do you think? Are you up for-" there was a resounding bang and the fox cringed knowing what must have happened. As for Kiba he could only stare, mouth agape at what he'd just seen.

"…Did…did Iruka-sensei just kick down your front door? Naruto?" The young ninja blinked as the spot that had previously held a blonde was empty but for a few swirling leaves to mark his hasty escape.

* * *

AN's: ...ehehe...did I say a week? I meant a day. ^^'

Being honest I'm just avoiding studying for my midterms. Math classes are the bane of my existence. I just have to keep reminding myself that I only have to take one more after this one then I'm done for the rest of my life. Cue the Hallelujah chorus!

Leave your reviews in the box on the way out and have a lovely day!

-Alice


	4. Chapter 4

When Sakura was shaken awake she groaned as a wicked drumming that matched her heart beat took up residence in her head.

"Ooooo…ow ow ow…" she mumbled sitting up with a little assistance from the Kimiko, the nurse who'd found her. She blinked a few times to clear her vision from the after burst of light and fuzziness that danced across her sight.

"Haruno-san! Are you alright?" The nurse, one she'd worked with before on her stints in the hospital, fluttered about her, trying to get a good look at the bruise forming on her forehead.

"I think so Kimiko-san," the kunoichi hissed as she felt the edges of the soon-to-be goose egg with cautious fingers. Damn that hurt! What hit her, one of the Inuzuka dogs?

Confidant she wasn't about to pass out again Sakura used the bed behind her to pull herself upright. Kimiko looked a little more at ease once the young woman was on her feet, but continued to chew her lip nervously.

"Haruno-san, what happened? Where is your teammate?"

Pink brows came together in confusion as she tried to piece the time before she blacked out back together.

"Naruto is…" her eyes widened as the memory of blood-red eyes and a fist came back to her. She gasped and cast anxious eye around the room, her heart sinking when she saw no trace of him.

Not waiting to explain herself, the kunoichi leapt out of the window down to the nearest rooftop, before taking off running towards the Hokage tower. Kimiko stuck her head out of the window and saw her mad dash across the roofs, and could only trust that the shinobi could figure it out.

Sakura put the pounding in her head to the back of her priorities, there would be time later to rest and heal.

How could it be possible? Jiraiya had assured them all that Akatsuki had taken the Kyuubi out. That all that was left was Naruto's own normal chakra and a few bits where youki had melded with it. He said it was just a bit of bleed over, a side effect of having carried the demon for so long.

Her feet tapped on the roof tiles rapidly as she pondered those few minutes. She didn't want to admit it, but couldn't deny what she'd seen. His eyes.

It was his eyes when he'd looked at her. They had held a fire that was so cold and calculating it made her freeze in fear. Naruto, bless that idiot, had never looked so old or mature. His eyes were always sparkling with a childlike joy that warmed the people around him. No, they had not been her teammate's eyes.

She jumped from the last roof and skidded a little when she hit the ground before breaking into a run again the last hundred yards to the tower. If her fears were correct, and oh how she hoped they weren't, then they'd need to go after him now.

It took her only a minute to push past all the other people in the halls, barely stopping to give Iruka's surprised question an answer. She therefor didn't see the concern on his face as he turned and found the nearest window to use as an exit before running towards the residential part of town. Running along the wall when it was too crowded, she jumped to the floor before bursting through the doors.

"Tsunade-sama! I need to talk to you. Now!" she yelled, starling the woman and the councilor she'd been talking with. Tsunade looked her student over quickly, taking in the obvious hit to the head before dismissing the older man with a firm nod towards the door.

The older kunoichi knew at once it was serious. Her student simply didn't react like this. Once he was gone she turned her full attention on her student, "Haruno, report."

"It's Naruto," green eyes filled with pain as she explained, "he woke up. But…I don't think he was the one in control of his body." Sakura cast an eye towards the door, being vague on purpose just in case someone was listening. If she was wrong, well she didn't want to cause that idiot any more problems than he already had.

Tsunade folded her hands in front of her mouth thoughtfully and rested her chin on them. "Why do you think so?"

Sakura frowned, "His eyes. They were red. Then he hit me when I got close to him." She raised a hand to the bruise and Tsunade felt a lead weight drop into her stomach, "I was knocked out, and when I came to he was gone. I'm sorry." Sakura refused to tear up, it would do no good right now. But this situation was eerily familiar to how she'd lost her other teammate and it made her belly twist in guilt that she'd been too weak to stop them again.

Tsunade stood them and went to the window to open it, "Saru-san." A monkey masked ANBU appeared at her side then and stood at attention as she gave him his orders, "Find Jiraiya, tell him to find Naruto, and to subdue him by any means necessary." He gave an almost imperceptible nod and was gone.

Turning she spoke to the rest of the ANBU hiding in the room, "Spread the word. Find Uzumaki Naruto, but do not engage him in a fight. Get word to either me, or Jiraiya as soon as you do. Go." At that last barked order, all but three of them cleared the room and were on their way, leaving the Hokage with Sakura.

Sakura felt a hand on her shoulder and realized she'd been glaring at the floor. Tsunade didn't need to say anything as the younger woman took in a deep breath.

"I know, we won't let anything happen to him. It's just that…it's just like when Sasuke left. He left we unconscious on a bench…I couldn't do anything but cry and wait for Naruto and the others to go get him." Her fists clenched as she stuck her bottom lip out stubbornly. "Not this time." Her green eyes blazed as she looked up at her mentor, "I'm going to help. If Naruto.." she clamped down on her fears again, swallowing what she was about to say and changing it, "if Naruto is still in there he'd never let that demon hurt me. I could distract him."

Tsunade gave her a long measuring look and nodded, "Good, we'll need you. Come on, let's go save that brat. He better not have lost to my necklace after all this time." This last part was said as she walked out the door and down the hall, Sakura close behind her.

* * *

Iruka ran with a grim frown covering his face and wrinkles framing his eyes in worry. More than a few of those had been caused by a certain blonde kid.

When he'd seen Sakura-san run through the hall like that his heart had stopped. He'd passed her not an hour before as he left the hospital from a visit to his favorite student. Naruto was undeniable as close to a son as any of his students had ever been. While he'd never formally adopted the boy, the bond was still there.

The only reason he could think of to see the little Haruno that upset was if something had happened to Naruto. A quick check at the hospital and his fears were confirmed. He hoped that his student had only run away from the hospital and that nothing worse happened.

But if there was one thing Umino Iruka was gone at it was worrying. As he made his way around to some of Naruto's favorite haunts he ran through the worst possible scenarios in his mind. What if he had gotten worse? What if the kinjutsu had damaged something else? What if he'd lost his memory? What if Akatsuki had taken him again? What if…

And so his thoughts ran in circles as he failed to find the boy. As a last resort he stopped at the boy's apartment. He got to the door and immediately started pounding on it, ignoring the annoyed comments from his neighbors. They should be used to the boy making noise anyways.

"Naruto? Naruto are you there?" He couldn't quite keep that panic out of his voice as he tried to see through the crack.

It seemed like a lifetime before a familiar voice, even if it was a little hoarse call back. "Ah, yes! I'm here."

Iruka sighed in relief and leaned his head against the wood of the door, allowing himself to calm down, "Thank goodness…Naruto open the door, it's important."

"Sure, just one second and I'll get it-" a slight pause and then,"-believe it!" Iruka had to smile a little at that and shook his head. The idiot must have snuck out of the hospital without telling anyone again. That was why Sakura had looked so scared.

But after a few minutes and no answer he frowned again and gave another light knock, "Naruto?" No one answered and so he knocked again, "Naruto, open this door." This time he listened and was surprised to not hear anything. Naruto never bother being quiet when he was at home.

Now back to worried parent mode he took a step back to prepare then promptly kicked the door in. It barely resisted and fell into the apartment with a crash. Distantly he thought he heard Kiba yelp but ignored it. He ran inside, kunai in hand. A quick glance around showed that his student must have been home and not just one of his kage bunshin's. There were blood soaked bandages on the floor and a still hot cup of instant ramen on the table.

Scowling a bit he saw the open window and ran to it but there was no sign of the boy.

"NARUTO!"

* * *

A few blocks away Kyuubi tried to calm his heartbeat and quickly squashed the panic that wanted to make him move. He didn't know how they'd found him so quickly but they would not do it again any time soon. He glanced towards the walls where he knew the training grounds were and melted back into the shadows with a grim expression. If he could get there it would be easy to get over the wall and get out of this village. Once he was in the forest they'd never catch him. It was a race against time, one that he intended to win.

* * *

AN's: Alright a bit more explanation going on here to get things set up for the fight scenes. I've got this fic mostly planned (all the major events anyways) so we should be sticking to a once a week schedule unless I get unexpected free time, or reversely, if I lose free time.

As always please forgive me my grammar errors and such. Still no beta for this story. I've also decided to switch from 'ninja' to the more specific shinobi and kunoichi. When I've got some free time I'll go back and edit the earlier chapters.

Leave your comments in the box on the way out along with any extra Halloween candy you might happen across! Have a great holiday!


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